GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Democrats obstruct war funding… again

Last week we reported on George Tenet’s new book, At the Center of the Storm, noting controversies surfacing since its release. This week, Mr. Tenet appeared on “Meet the Press” to defend both his memoir and his tenure as CIA Director during the period leading up to the decision to invade Iraq. Mr. Tenet provided substantive forensic opposition to the “Bush-Lied-People-Died” twaddle continually intoned by the Left, and not a moment too soon.

Why? Because House Seditionists (AKA Democrats) are at it again, this time crafting a “half-now, half-later” payment plan to fund the war effort in Iraq. The too-clever-by-half bill authorizes roughly $43 billion (or 45 percent) of the total $95.5 billion up front, conditioning the remainder on congressional review of progress made. A second vote in July will supposedly release the remaining funds. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) rightly calls the bill “war on the installment plan.” Despite another veto threat from the President and even groaning from the Senate, it passed, 221-205. At least they rejected the nine-month withdrawal plan.

The bill requires the Commander in Chief to submit three progress reports to Congress in July, which would precede a vote on whether to cut off funding immediately. Pending that vote, releasing the remaining $53 billion would get a vote. Democrats will undoubtedly use this second vote as another political weapon, not as a true milestone to measure progress in Iraq, deriving from the standard mantra: the invasion was all a lie crafted by President Bush, had no basis, yada yada. Even many “moderate” GOP Congressmen warned the President this week that the war is hurting the party and they will jump ship if things do not improve by September.

Iraq is a battleground between insurgents and a nascent government, and the hearts and minds of Iraq’s people are the target. We can win, naysayers notwithstanding, but holding a funding scythe to the heads of our men and women in combat is no way to do so.

Pelosi and Feinstein bring ‘ethics’ to the Swamp

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is not sufficiently separate from her husband’s business dealings and may actually be profiting from them, according to California’s community-property law. Feinstein stepped down from the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on military construction after questions arose regarding a conflict of interest over her involvement in contract matters with her husband Richard Blum’s construction firms. Her first defense was that the subcommittee she sat on did not have the power to award Pentagon contracts. Not true. Her second defense was that she had no financial interest in her husband’s deals, even the ones that appeared before her in the Senate. Also not true. The “community property law” states that any gains or debt generated by either partner belongs to both partners. If Feinstein can be tied to having profited from Blum’s military contracts, Appropriations may be only the first committee she steps down from.

Another prominent California Democrat, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is also attracting attention regarding a water-development bill that appears to benefit her husband Paul Pelosi’s property holdings in the San Francisco area. The $15-billion Water Resources Development Act, which overwhelmingly cleared the House last month, gives $25 million to San Francisco to improve its ports. More money in the area is likely to improve property values, thereby putting more money into Mr. Pelosi’s pockets—and by extension through the community-property law, more money into Mrs. Pelosi’s pockets, too.

Kansas governor plays politics with tornadoes

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, claimed this week that recovery from the deadly tornadoes that wiped out the town of Greensburg was slow because “Fifty percent of [our] equipment is gone and we can’t borrow from other states because their equipment is gone.” Her point was that the National Guard had been so depleted by the war in Iraq that help was impossible.

The Missouri National Guard found the claim somewhat odd, considering that neighboring Kansas had made no request for help. In 2005, the Missouri Guard sent 2,000 soldiers within 72 hours of Hurricane Katrina.

Rumor has it that none other than Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean instructed Sebelius by phone to use this as an opportunity to bash the Bush administration for political gain. The mainstream media, of course, were more than willing accomplices in propagating the hoax.

Romney, Sharpton trade barbs

“As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don’t worry about that; that’s a temporary situation.” So said the Racist Rev. Al Sharpton regarding Mitt Romney this week. Romney took the opportunity—handed to him on a silver platter—to take on a favorite target of conservatives; he responded by saying that Sharpton had made “a bigoted statement.” Bottom story of the year, we know, but Sharpton in turn claims he was only “responding to [Mormon] bigotry” for not allowing blacks full rights in their church until only 30 years ago. He also claimed he was talking about all Republicans, not just Romney. (Apparently, we’re all godless.) Sharpton has made a career on defending the “offended,” but we’re not holding our breath waiting for an apology.

Judicial Benchmarks: Circuit Court denies DC appeal

In the halls of justice on the right, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit denied 6-4 Washington, DC’s, appeal of a prior ruling striking down its gun ban. The ruling, by a three-judge panel of the Court, said that the Second Amendment still applies—even in DC—and that the District’s stringent gun ban was unconstitutional. Mayor Adrian Fenty said that he was “disappointed” and “surprised” that the full Court would not take the case. He added, “[T]he District’s gun-control laws… are a critical part of the District’s public-safety strategy and have been so for more than 30 years.” With one of the highest murder rates in the nation, we see that the safety strategy has worked quite well.

The District can still appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, though no further action has yet been declared and the ban will remain in place for the 90-day interim.

In other gun news, Virginia has served notice to New York City to stop its sting operations against gun dealers in Virginia. A new law takes effect in July that will make NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s operations a felony. Bloomberg’s spokesman responded, “We wish [Virginia] Attorney General McDonnell was as aggressive in enforcing the laws that prevent illegal guns from getting in the hands of criminals as he was in enforcing the laws that protect the gun lobby.” We in our humble shop are wondering when Bloomberg will commence sting operations at car dealerships for DUI incidents.

Around the world: France elects a pro-American

Despite the MSM’s furious attempts to spin it otherwise, Nicolas Sarkozy’s winning the presidency of France is good news, both for his country and ours. Comfortably beating his socialist opponent Segolene Royal in an election that drew record turnout, Sarkozy ran a campaign that promised significant changes in France. Years of poor socialist governing (not that there is any other kind) have left the country at the mercy of powerful labor unions and student groups who jealously protect short workweeks, long vacations and far too generous state services. Attempts to bring the economy around with free-market policies have resulted in strikes that grow longer and protests that grow more violent every year.

Sarkozy might be the only man in France who can turn it around. At the very least, he respects and admires the United States, and that will come in handy, since British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the only other significant ally the U.S. has in Western Europe, will step down next month. Sarkozy has created many enemies for his tough personality; in 2005 he called immigrant rioters in Paris “scum,” a sentiment that many Frenchmen shared, but few had the guts to say into a camera. His ideas to refresh ties with the U.S. and bring about economic and governmental reform at home were shared by enough voters to give him a mandate. While he’s no Fred Thompson—for example, he supports affirmative action—he’s as conservative a leader as we are likely to see in France, and we welcome his election.

Ireland’s parties agree to unity government

On Tuesday, former archenemies Ian Paisley of the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party and Martin McGuinness of the largely-Catholic Sinn Fein wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) made “one of the mightiest leaps forward” in the Northern Ireland peace process in 15 years by entering into a political alliance in the form of a new power-sharing government. For two groups whose religious and ideological differences have spawned violence and bloodshed since time immemorial, the significance of the union cannot be overstated.

While both parties hold dearly to their Irish identity, both also have long-held firm but opposing convictions regarding their relationship to Great Britain. For decades, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland’s largest Protestant group, has fought to keep Northern Ireland part of Great Britain. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein, Ireland’s oldest political movement and the IRA’s political wing, has waged war against British rule, working instead for unification with the southern Catholic Irish Republic.

Under the new alliance, the power-sharing Northern Ireland government will oversee the day-to-day issues of the province while Britain will retain overall rule and budgetary authority. Despite prior failed attempts, leaders this time are optimistic. Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams noted that the new arrangement is evidence that perseverance and dialogue can, indeed, yield results. He remarked, “We’re going to change the political landscape from here out. We are going to succeed.” For British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the resolute Iraq war supporter who just yesterday announced his 27 June resignation, the new government marks a capstone achievement of his ten-year tenure.

Whether Northern Ireland has finally achieved a lasting peace remains to be seen, and much is now dependent on the willingness of the people to cooperate locally, but as the exercise of power-sharing begins to play out in reality, all eyes will be on “Ulster” in hopes that time will tell a story of success among a people scarred by the violence and loss of “The Troubles.”

New & notable legislation

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) introduced the Health Insurance Affordability Act and is seeking original co-sponsors. The bill would allow taxpayers to deduct the premiums of high-deductible health insurance plans associated with Health Savings Accounts without itemizing or being self-employed.

Rep. John Campbell (R-CA) introduced the Tax Me More Act of 2007, which he says “would amend the Tax Code to allow individuals to make voluntary donations to the federal government above and beyond their normal tax liability. The bill would even place a line on the IRS tax form to make it easier for them to do so.” We’re guessing not too many liberals would take advantage.

NATIONAL SECURITY

On the Homeland Security front: The Fort Dix Six

Memo to Democrats ready to cut and run from Iraq: The war nearly came to our soil once again this week with the foiled plot of six jihadis who sought to attack the Army base at Fort Dix, New Jersey, with guns and grenades. The plan was unveiled thanks to the vigilance of a store clerk who notified the FBI when the men delivered a tape of suspicious material that they wanted converted to DVD. (Yes, he was profiling.) The tape showed ten men firing “assault weapons” while calling for jihad and shouting “Allah Akbar” (god is great). After an investigation, the men, all in their 20s, were arrested after trying to buy AK-47s and M-16s from an informant.

Four of the ten in the video have not been arrested—the FBI says they “do not have evidence that would link them directly to the [Fort Dix] plot.” Five will be charged with the plot, one other with aiding and abetting in the illegal possession of firearms. Four of the jihadis were born in the former Yugoslavia, one was born in Jordan and one in Turkey.

Fort Dix was the hub for receiving and placing refugees from Kosovo. The fact that four of the men are from Yugoslavia raises interesting questions regarding the Clinton administration’s handling of that conflict and the total lack of screening or background checks for refugees entering the U.S. Furthermore, if there were any question remaining regarding border security, three of the six men entered the U.S. illegally.

The New York Times, under the headline, “The Role of an F.B.I. Informer Draws Praise as Well as Questions About Legitimacy” (emphasis added), quoted the mother of one jihadi saying, “He’s a good boy.” We’re sure the other inmates will like him as well.

Profiles of valor: Lance Cpl. Adlesperger

Lance Cpl. Christopher Adlesperger of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was on a “clearing mission” in Fallujah with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, when he and his team encountered heavy enemy fire. His point man was killed and two other Marines were injured. Despite shrapnel wounds, Adlesperger advanced the attack against the jihadis, while single-handedly clearing the stairs and moving the wounded to safety. According to the citation on his award, “On his own initiative, while deliberately exposing himself to heavy enemy fire…[Adlesperger] established a series of firing positions and attacked the enemy, forcing them to be destroyed in place or to move into an area where adjacent forces could engage them.”

A month after the Fallujah battle, the 20-year-old Adlesperger was on another clearing mission when he was killed by enemy gunfire.

For his courageous actions in Fallujah, Adlesperger was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest military medal for combat valor. His family was presented with the medal at a recent award ceremony. Adlesperger’s actions “destroyed the last strongpoint in the Jolan District of Al Fallujah and saved the lives of his fellow Marines…” the citation states. “By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire and utmost devotion to duty… Adlesperger reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.”

Patriots, please pray for the family of Lance Cpl. Adlesperger.

Spying on the weather

Clearly demonstrating that they cannot be trusted with the nation’s security, House Democrats are considering an Intelligence Authorization bill that calls for an assessment of the effects of climate change on national security. Yes, you read that right, climate change. With existential threats such as al-Qa’ida, North Korea, Red China and Iran lurking around the world, one would think that the nation’s limited intelligence resources could be put to better use than studying SUV exhaust. This same misuse of defense-related programs occurred during the Clinton years, too. We wonder what clues to 9/11 were missed while satellites were photographing polar bears in the Arctic.

Describing the climate study as “cutting edge,” Intelligence panel Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) said the idea is one of several changes his party has made to intelligence policy. “This is an area that we may be vulnerable in terms of potential terrorists,” Reyes declared. The office of Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) wondered, “It’s hard to imagine how anyone could believe that climate change represents a more clear and present danger to the United States than radical Islamic terrorists armed with bombs, but that’s essentially what Democrats have concluded in this bill.” Indeed, should the U.S. ever again have to answer the question, “Was this attack preventable?” the answer will be that instead of funding the intelligence services to evaluate and warn of direct national threats, funds were diverted to study climate change. Don’t you feel safer already?

North Korea says, ‘Show us the money’

North Korea is offering to shut down its nuclear reactor “immediately” in exchange for the allowed transfer of $25 million from Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macao to a U.S. bank. The U.S. , in accordance with the policy on preventing terrorist financing, had frozen the money previously. Washington has since unfrozen Pyongyang’s assets, but the State Department is pushing for the as-yet unsuccessful transfer so that negotiations can continue. The Treasury Department had blacklisted the bank in March and in 2005 listed BDA as a “primary money-laundering concern” under Section 311 of the Patriot Act. Of course, getting a U.S. bank to agree to the transfer will be another hurdle. (Perhaps if Kim Jung-Il can come up with a Mexican matricula consular card, then Bank of America will come to his aid…)

North Korea had promised to shut down its reactor by 14 April but has stalled in an effort to get its hands on the $25 million. Yet even for a Stone Age economy like North Korea’s, $25 million is chicken feed, making their demand somewhat puzzling. This has been a challenge for the Bush administration, to say the least, outlining conflicts within the administration on the handling of the two remaining members of the “Axis of Evil.” The State Department is ever trusting, despite reality often pointing elsewhere. North Korea’s obligation is to shut down the reactor—then the time for money talk will come.

Speaking of diplomacy, as we noted two weeks ago, the Bush administration is seeking missile-defense facilities in Eastern Europe to counter emerging threats to national security. After contending with opposition from Russia, the administration now faces congressional hurdles. In a familiar story, Democrats are pushing for cuts in funding ($764 million), which in part would not allow interceptor silos to be built in Poland. Votes are expected soon in both houses, and the program as a whole is looking at a shaky future.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Congressional gas attacks

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) has prodded the Government Accountability Office to investigate the role domestic oil refineries play in the high gas prices Americans are paying at the pump these days. Schumer’s conspiracy theory is that American oil refineries deliberately eschew much-needed repairs and improvements to keep production artificially low and prices high. With American refineries running at 88 percent capacity, there is clearly room for improvement, but before accusing the oil industry yet again of sticking it to the little guy, a view of the bigger picture is in order.

The federal excise tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon. Most states include their own taxes on top of that—Schumer’s New York charges an additional 31.9 cents per gallon. The current average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.03, according to AAA. Imagine how much happier drivers would be if 50 cents of government confiscation were lopped off that number. Don’t look for that in Schumer’s report.

In addition to Schumer’s witch-hunt, twice this week the automotive industry became the focus of competing visions to raise the fuel economy of American cars. In the Senate, Daniel Inouye (D-HI), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Ted Stevens (R-AK), the Committee’s ranking member, introduced a bill that would require U.S. automakers to raise the fuel economy average to 28.5 mpg in 2015 and 35 mpg in 2020, with four percent improvements each year thereafter. Even Carl Levin (D-MI) called the bill ineffective because it focused on small changes instead of solid technological breakthroughs.

On the presidential campaign trail, Demo candidate Barack Obama also called for improving fuel efficiency. His plan is for the government to pay ten percent of domestic automakers’ healthcare costs for retired workers, allowing them to put that money into research and development of more fuel-efficient vehicles. Other tax incentives Obama proposed would allow for recalibrating factories to produce more hybrid vehicles. The price tag for such a program would run $20 billion over ten years. This proposal departs from Obama’s earlier promotion of coal-to-liquid technology, which runs afoul of environmentalists because of the high level of carbon dioxide resulting from the conversion of coal to liquid fuel. Rather than support the pursuit of new fuel technologies, Obama has decided to play it safe with his liberal supporters by offering yet another government cure-all instead of letting market forces drive innovation.

Oil turns to Democrats and Bush turns to drilling

Shenanigans notwithstanding, Democrats are being paid much more attention by the oil industry these days. In the first quarter of 2007, they received 56.6 percent of oil company-related PAC money, 22.5 percent more than during the entire 2005-2006-election cycle, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a branch of Congressional Quarterly. This is to be expected now that Demos control the committees and have “Big Oil” in their sights. Investigations into price fixing, environmental measures and “excessive” profits have companies like ConocoPhillips and BP worried that Demo shakeups could harm their business, so making friends is the order of the day.

Whether any more domestic drilling will be allowed at all is another issue entirely. President Bush introduced a plan that would expand drilling to include the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the coasts of Alaska and Virginia. Predictably, environmentalists will fight this every step of the way, but realistic folks who want true energy independence will have a tough time saying no to 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Britain is no model for healthcare

Proponents of HillaryCare, who claim other nations’ national health systems are the model the U.S. should adopt, are aghast at this week’s admissions that the British National Health System rations care to citizens based on their status in society. Contrary to the images of cute puppies, sunny days and happy citizens painted by those who want to socialize American medicine, British doctors noted their government routinely denies citizens access to new cancer medicines, diagnostic tools and testing and other procedures commonly available to Americans because certain British citizens are deemed unfit to receive the rationed care. In Britain, after one or more years, many health services become available for citizens who successfully navigate the mandatory rationing waiting lists unless they happen to be “unfit” (i.e. the elderly, overweight or disease-stricken).

In the Orwellian world of government healthcare rationing, “universal” care is not comprehensive care. The very persons who are most vulnerable are denied medical care because they need it, and other services eventually become available to healthy people who don’t need them. Due to the Medicare trustees’ recent warning about the impending financial bankruptcy of that social-welfare program because of government under-funding, can vulnerable Americans survive rationing after a federal government takeover of our healthcare system? Liberals who support partial-birth abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia and other population-control measures enable us to guess the answer.

This week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ award:

“The unfettered free market has been the most radically destructive force in… the last generation.” —the candidate formerly known as Rodham

CULTURE

Regulatory Commissars: Keep your laws off my body!

If there’s one thing Democrats love, it’s consistency… some of the time. Citing the need for “consistent” healthcare, the Connecticut State Legislature last week passed a bill mandating that all Connecticut hospitals—including the state’s four Catholic hospitals—dispense Plan B oral contraception to rape victims.

The measure has met strong opposition from Catholic leaders, who argue that it forces them to violate their faith. In a meager attempt to placate the Catholic conscience, the legislature included a semantic caveat fit only for government. By bureaucratic benevolence, hospitals may contract with a third-party healthcare provider to dispense the drug on hospital grounds.

Beyond openly violating religious freedom, the abortion mandate exposes the utter hypocrisy of liberal “logic.” While fighting tooth and nail against government intrusion “in the bedroom” (which, incidentally, is the only place you will find liberals on the side of limited government), Democrats have no qualms about regulating contraceptives in the hospital room. They cry foul when students must recite the Pledge of Allegiance, but they readily force Catholic hospitals to violate a central conviction.

Consistency? Hardly. More like a shallow argument from the camp whose only consistency is the lack thereof.

Michael Moore under investigation

Infamous “documentarian” Michael Moore is under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department for taking ailing 9/11 rescue workers to Cuba for healthcare—all for his upcoming crockumentary, “Sicko.” Moore’s jaunt to Cuba violates the U.S. trade embargo. In a letter to Moore, Dale Thompson, OFAC chief of general investigations and field operations, wrote, “This office has no record that a specific license was issued authorizing you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba.” Of course, Moore’s spokesperson deflected questions, saying, “Our health-care system is broken and, all too often, deadly. The efforts of the Bush administration to conduct a politically motivated investigation of Michael Moore and ‘Sicko’ will not stop us from making sure the American people see this film.” We think the perfect solution is a one-way ticket for Moore to Castro’s island prison in paradise.

From the Village Academic Curriculum File

The Khalil Gibran International Academy serving grades 6-12 will begin classes in Brooklyn, New York, this fall. The school supports a “multicultural curriculum and intensive Arabic language instruction.” Columnist Daniel Pipes notes that while this country is in dire need of Arabic speakers in the military, government, the media, et al., the KGIA’s purpose may go beyond that of mere language instruction. The head of the school, Dhabah Almontaser, is known for her “extremist views,” going so far as to condemn the NYPD for the “FBI tactics” used to avert subway bombings, which “stigmatized” the local Muslim population. “For Ms. Almontaser, it appears, preventing terrorism counts less than soothing Muslim sensibilities,” wrote Pipes.

As today’s academic institutions break new ground for breeding Muslim hostilities toward America’s way of life, a recent study led by the Institute for Jewish and Community research found that—surprise!—our college campuses are full of intolerance towards Christians.

Of the 1,200 faculty members surveyed, 53 percent indicated that they had “unfavorable” views of Christians, while only 22 percent had negative views of Muslims. Even more disturbing, 29 percent of those surveyed selected America as one of two countries that represented the “greatest threats to international stability,” and 71 percent indicated that “…the country would be better off if Christian fundamentalists kept their religious beliefs out of politics.” Apparently, freedom of religion applies only if one is not a Christian.

From the ‘Non Compos Mentis’ File

Many years ago, the NAACP held a mock funeral for the Jim Crow laws enforced during the segregation era. This July, they will do the same for the “n-word” during the organization’s annual convention in Detroit. “We are committed to ending hate—word and talk,” said Detroit-area NAACP president, Rev. Wendell Anthony. “Now that corporate America has caught up, maybe something will happen,” Anthony added, referring to Don Imus’ recent firing from CBS Radio and MSNBC, even though the only “n-word” Imus used was “nappy.”

While Imus’ comments were ill considered, the NAACP suffers from selective outrage. Real crimes such as the rapes and murders of Caucasian couple Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian by a group of blacks earlier this year obviously don’t fit into the NAACP’s victim complex.

Publisher’s Note: Sunday is Mother’s Day. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12) It was in 1914 that President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation proclaiming Mother’s Day a national holiday. So, to Moms everywhere—Happy Mother’s Day, and may God bless each and every mother among our readers, all around the world! We wouldn’t be without them…

And last…

In a blast from the past, Commie Pinko Hanoi Jane was on “Larry King Live” this week. Being an expert at treasonous undermining of a war effort, Jane was the perfect candidate for the question, “Do you see parallels between Vietnam and Iraq?” Fonda regurgitated the usual Leftist babble: “Oh, yes, I do! Got in based on lies. Scared to get out because our presidents are afraid it will make them look unmanly…” Somehow we’re not convinced. But she continued, “[W]e couldn’t win but they were scared of pulling out, you know, ‘premature evacuation’ and all of that. We can’t win this. We couldn’t win the Vietnam War. It was the wrong war…[N]ow it’s just poor kids that are going over there and dying and are less well-equipped and less armored than they were during the Vietnam War. It’s a tragedy. I don’t think anything has hurt this country as much as what President Bush has done to us.” We really can’t top the astute analysis of Rush Limbaugh: “There you have it: ‘premature evacuation.’ The women of the left.”

Veritas vos Liberabit—Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for The Patriot’s editors and staff. (Please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm’s way around the world, and for their families—especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who have died in defense of American liberty, while prosecuting the war with Jihadistan.)